BAJA TIME ZONES

If you were looking for a list of reasons why Baja is a great travel destination, it would be a pretty long list. Great weather, close proximity to the United States, reasonable prices, natural wonders, wonderful people...the list goes on. Another nice aspect about Baja is the time zones, something you may not fully appreciate unless you've vacationed in the Caribbean or the South Pacific.

Baja is located in two familiar time zones, the Pacific Time Zone (Pacific Standard Time) and the Mountain Time Zone (Mountain Standard Time). To make it easy on everyone, the Mexican government set up the time zone boundaries to coincide with the states on the Baja Peninsula. Baja California, the state to the north, is in the Pacific Time Zone. Baja California Sur, the state to the south, is in the Mountain Time Zone.

We think you'll agree it's always time to go to Baja!

Just to help you set your bearings, some of the popular tourist destinations in Baja California (the northern state) in the Pacific Time Zone include Tijuana, Rosarito Beach, Ensenada, San Quintin, El Rosario, Catavina, San Felipe and Bahia de los Angeles.

Some of the most popular tourist destinations in Baja California Sur (the southern state) in the Mountain Time Zone include Guerrero Negro, San Ignacio, Santa Rosalia, Mulege, Bahia Concepcion, Loreto, La Paz, Todos Santos, Buena Vista, San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas.

Both Baja California and Baja California Sur recognize Daylight Saving Time. Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00 a.m. local time on the first Sunday in April. On the last Sunday in October Daylight Saving Time falls back to Standard Time at 2:00 a.m.

The names in each time zone change along with Daylight Saving Time. Pacific Standard Time becomes Pacific Daylight Time, and Mountain Standard Time becomes Mountain Daylight Time.

In 2005 U.S. legislation was passed to extend Daylight Saving Time by several weeks. Bottom line....it's always time to go to Baja! (sorry...I couldn't resist it - C.F.)